From: Alain Chabot <achabot@rushcomm.ca>   
To: Squad Leader List <SL@lists.nyx.net> 
Subject:    SL List: SL Lives 
Date:    Jan 25, 2006 7:05 PM 

Gentlemen,

I have good news.

MMP has accepted to make the SL-Gi rules available. They will be  
posted on their (MMP's) website in a format to be determined (most  
likely pdf). There is no ETA on this at the present. But expect the  
COI and SL rules to be available soon. These will be exact copies of  
the latest published editions (SL4, COI4, COD1 and GI2).

That is not all

There will then be SL5, COI5, COD3 and GI3 rule books . These will  
preserve the present rule sets and the present game system. So don't  
go running screaming that the barbarians are at the gate. This will  
NOT be ASL lite. But known errata will be merged into the text and  
pertinent q&a addressed directly in the rules. Some rules may see  
change. Holes will be plugged (hole: whenever you stare at the board  
and say "now what?". There are a number of those). Rules that don't  
interact well will be fixed (think night, or snow).

Some way will be found  to alert the player that a given rule does  
change later in the system. No rule will change number. Although  
extra rules may be inserted as per above. Do not expect ANY  
significant change to anything that presently works. The only change  
to what works will be in the wording, to clarify things (mainly to  
incorporate Q&A).

What will not happen

  There will not be a printed edition of any of these games. Rules  
will become available as per the above, and map boards can be  
purchased from MMP. Counters will not be printed. Expect the QRDC to  
also be available. I'll see what can be done for Scenario cards. It  
would REALLY help if there was some gratitude expressed where  
appropriate for MMP allowing all this, indeed for them sponsering it.  
Recrimination would be most inappropriate ("what? no counters? damn  
MMP!" for example). Remember  that the latest versions of these rule  
books are no longer available. MMP is doing us one hell of a favour  
here.

A word about the process.

First, we all owe a big "for he's a jolly good fella" to Bill  
Thomson. It was his tireless efforts that eventually brought this  
agreement into being. Bill and his team will be responsible for a lot  
of the legwork here. I will be supervising the project for MMP. This  
is not Alain's project. Or Bill's project. It is now MMP's project.   
Expect us (through me) to ask for suggestions and feedback.

Alain Chabot
for Multi-man Publishing, LLC


======================================================

"[Progress] is nothing but a label we attach to change in a direction  
we like."  Lawrence M. Friedman